The board of the TEA (Themed Entertainment Association) has unanimously confirmed Steve Thorburn, principal of Thorburn Associates, as its president for a second year. New TEA divisional presidents include SeaWorld’s Brian Morrow (Eastern North America), David Aion of The Aion Company (Western North America) and Alan Wilkinson of Electrosonic (Europe and Middle East).
The Dreamland Trust is on the lookout for a project director, “audience development director” and a project archivist for the Dreamland heritage park in Margate, England. These key positions have been created to help take forward detailed proposals for the world’s first amusement park dedicated solely to historic rides and attractions. The appointments are possible thanks to a £384,500 grant by the Heritage Lottery Fund. For further details and job descriptions, click here.
Merlin Entertainments has handled a €20 million ($30m) media planning account to Mediacom after a four-month pitch. Mediacom, which has offices in the UK, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands and Portugal, will handle Merlin’s 2010 media planning and buying for more than 40 attractions across Europe. “The time has come to leverage the combined strength of our market-leading brands much more in our media buying,” says Andy Davies, Merlin’s commercial services director.
The Cedar Fair group has finalised an agreement to sell its undeveloped land adjacent to Canada’s Wonderland near Toronto. The company anticipates net proceeds from the sale will be approximately $50 million, will be used entirely to reduce its long-term debt.
Accesso, a provider of ticketing, commerce, and payment solutions for the entertainment industry, has appointmented of TJ Christensen as director of business development and Janel Pisorchik as director of business operations. Both are hospitality industry veterans with extensive experience in ticketing and operations.
